The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-23
SINGULAR TAXES.
Payment Demanded for Births, Win
dow Glass, Polls, Wool and Noncon-
formity.
From the Philadelphia Ne,us.

formity.
From, the Philadelphia Ne1us.
OF all the taxes ever imposed on the peo-
pie the ''birth-taxn was the most odious. 1t
lasted thirteen years, dating from 1895.
Every person not in receipt of aims was re-
quired to pay Is. for every ''little stranger"
that came into existence. The tax was
great burden to the lower orders; but the
nobility and gentry We're subjected to still
heavier payments than their poorer neigh
bors. Thirty pounds had to be paid on the
birth of child of Duke. This sum grad
ually diminished according to a certain
fixed scale, until it reached los, the amount
levied on real estate of ESQ, or personal es-
tates of e600 and upward Contemporaries
ously with this "birth tax" there existed an
other, called ''the bachelors tax" 1t was
not a very heavy imposition, and was
probably intended to be as much reminder
of their duty as a means of raising the
wind" which William III. so often stood in
need of. AS soon as man reached the age
of 25 he was liable to the tax, which was Is
yearly till he took to himself a spouse. But
it did not stop with bachelors, for it taxed
widowers without children. Besides the
shilling every person had to pay an amount
according to his rank for the luxury Tor
otherwise) of single blessedness; thus Duke
or an Archbishop was amerced in the yearly
sum Of 412 10S, an esquire 60 5S., a gen
tleman 5s. Social distinctions were nicely
drawn then.
There Is nothing British people pride
themselves in so much as their desirefor sani-
tary arrangements best suited for the health
of the general community Air, light and
cleanliness is the triad of the reformers
Introduce these" say they ''and many
difficulties regarding health will be simpli-
fed" But what would such ardent reform
ers say If such proposition were to arise
advising the taxation of window glass?
The idea would be spurned, yet there was
time when glass was taxed, so that light, free
to all, did not penetrate the Briton's house
without being paid for. The tax was a
graded one, according to the number of
windows
The first tax ever imposed on England
was the one levied by julius Caesar. When
this brave warrior had Subdued the warlike
races of Southern Britain he ordered the
chiefs of the various clans to send annually
to Rome a given number of men and wild
animals-the former, he said would be re-
tanned as hostages and the latter would be
used for the great fights in the Colosseum
But very often the men and the wild ami
mails were put on an equal footing and
forced to fight each other in sight of the
bloodthirsty and applauding Romans.
Taxation in kind was formerly common
An English King or General passing
|. through any part of England with bis army
could provide for soldiers and horses simply
by demading supplies from the people who
happened to be IN the line OF his march, and
for these provisions no money was given in
return Labor was also taxed in kind; la
borers and tradesmen had often to give their
Services gratis to the King, and sometimes
even to mobiles. 1t was in this way that
many of the great palaces in England were
built. Windsor Castle may be cited as an
example.
When the English, in the reign of Edgar
the Peaceable, conquered Wales, they levied
a tax on the Welsh. 1t was very unique
one Instead of a money tribute the con-
quered people had annually to hand over to
the English King 800 wolves heads, plan
which in four years cleared their forests of
these wild animals, and thus more safety
was secured for both man and domestic ami
mails.
About the fourteenth century the poll tax
was imposed It consisted in the payment
of Is annually by every one above the age
Of Is. No distinction was made-rfch and
poor were amenable to the same amount
Great discontentment followed its impoSi-
ton and the discontentment spread into
open rebellion
Nothing in bygone days seemed to escape
taxation; thus, at one time wool was heavily
taxed. The cause of all these demands for
money arose from the ambitious desires of
the English Kings They longed to rule not
only England, but France and other CONT
mental nations as well.
In the reign Of Queen Elizabeth the Eng
lish Parliament passed an act of uniformity,
ordering all those who should refuse TO be
Episcopalians or should absent themselves
from church on Sundays TO pay a tax of Is.
a year. In those days religious federation
was at a very low ebb.